All above the age of 45 can get vaccinated from April 1, says Prakash Javadekar

Prakash Javadekar appealed to all citizens who are above the age of 45 to get themselves registered for inoculation.

All people who are more than 45 years of age can get vaccinated from April 1, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday. Until now, only citizens who are above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses were being vaccinated in the nationwide vaccination drive.

Mr Javadekar appealed to all citizens who are above the age of 45 to get themselves registered for inoculation. “I appeal to every citizen who is 45 or above to register for vaccination,” he said. The second phase of vaccination started on March 1 in which people over 60 years of age and people over 45 with specified co-morbid conditions could get vaccinated.

According to Mr Javadekar, 4.85 crore people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and 80 lakh have received the second dose. As per the Centre's letter to all states and Union Territories, the gap between two doses of the vaccine (specifically for Covishield) has been increased to 6-8 weeks. Referring to it, Mr Javadekar said, "The second dose has to be between four to eight weeks. Doctors will decide when it is best to take the second shot.”